Composition of jovian dust stream particles     

Frank Postberg  Sascha Kempf  Simon F. Green  Neil McBride 《Icarus》2006,183(1):122-134

The Cassini spacecraft encountered Jupiter in late 2000. Within more than 1 AU of the gas giant the Cosmic Dust Analyser onboard the spacecraft recorded the first ever mass spectra of jovian stream particles. To determine the chemical composition of particles, a comprehensive statistical analysis of the dataset was performed. Our results imply that the vast majority (>95%) of the observed stream particles originate from the volcanic active jovian satellite Io from where they are sprinkled out far into the Solar System. Sodium chloride (NaCl) was identified as the major particle constituent, accompanied by sulphurous as well as potassium bearing components. This is in contrast to observations of gas in the ionian atmosphere, its co-rotating plasma torus, and the neutral cloud, where sulphur species are dominant while alkali and chlorine species are only minor components. Io has the largest active volcanoes of the Solar System with plumes reaching heights of more than 400 km above the moons surface. Our in situ measurements indicate that alkaline salt condensation of volcanic gases inside those plumes could be the dominant formation process for particles reaching the ionian exosphere.  相似文献   

A revised model for cycloid growth mechanics on Europa: Evidence from surface morphologies and geometries     

Scott T. Marshall 《Icarus》2005,177(2):341-366

Although a single model currently exists to explain the development of curved Europan cycloids, there have been no systematic studies of the range of morphologies and quantifiable geometric parameters of cycloidal features. We address variations in geometry along individual cycloid segments, characterizing differences in cusp styles and angles, and addressing the morphologic aspects of cycloid segments and cusps. In so doing, we illustrate how geometric and morphologic evidence imply a formation mechanism that differs from the existing model in several aspects. The current model states that cycloids are initiated as tensile fractures that grow in a curved path in response to rotating diurnal tidal stresses on Europa. However, the geometry of a cycloid cusp necessitates that shear stress was resolved onto the existing cycloid segment by the rotating diurnal stresses at the instant of cusp formation. Furthermore, we observe that cycloid cusps have a strikingly similar geometry to tailcracks that developed at the tips of many ridge-like strike-slip faults on Europa in response to shearing at the fault tip. We suggest that this similarity in geometries can be attributed to an identical formation mechanism whereby cycloid cusps form by a tailcracking process. We therefore present a revised, mechanically-based model for cycloid formation that retains the basic premise that crack growth is governed by diurnal stresses, but describes the development of cycloid cusps in response to resolved shear stresses at the tips of existing cycloid segments. The ratio of normal to shear stress at the time of tailcrack formation dictates the cusp angle and, over longer time periods, influences the morphologic evolution of the cycloid segment as it is repeatedly reworked by tidal stresses.  相似文献   

Dark matter in elliptical galaxies – II. Estimating the mass within the virial radius     

Gary A. Mamon  Ewa L. &#;okas 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2005,363(3):705-722

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Erratum: A high-velocity ionized outflow and XUV photosphere in the narrow emission line quasar PG1211+143     

《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2005,356(4):1599-1599

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Erratum: The runaway instability of thick discs around black holes – II. Non-constant angular momentum discs     

Frédéric Daigne  José A. Font 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2004,351(3):1120-1120

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A non-main-sequence secondary in SY Cancri     

Robert Connon Smith  Otto Mehes  Dave Vande Putte  Nigel A. Hawkins 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2005,360(1):364-374

Simultaneous spectroscopic and photometric observations of the Z Cam type dwarf nova SY Cancri were used to obtain absolute flux calibrations. A comparison of the photometric calibration with a wide-slit spectrophotometric calibration showed that either method is equally satisfactory. A radial velocity study of the secondary star, made using the far-red Na  i doublet, yielded a semi-amplitude of   K ₂= 127 ± 23 km s⁻¹  . Taking the published value of  86 ± 9 km s⁻¹  for K ₁ gives a mass ratio of   q = M ₂/ M ₁= 0.68 ± 0.14  ; this is very different from the value of  1.13 ± 0.35  quoted in the literature. Using the new lower mass ratio, and constraining the mass of the white dwarf to be within reasonable limits, then leads to a mass for the secondary star that is substantially less than would be expected for its orbital period if it satisfied a main-sequence mass–radius relationship. We find a spectral type of M0 that is consistent with that expected for a main-sequence star of the low mass we have found. However, in order to fill its Roche lobe, the secondary must be significantly larger than a main-sequence star of that mass and spectral type. The secondary is definitely not a normal main-sequence star.  相似文献   

A new interpretation of the remarkable X-ray spectrum of the symbiotic star CH Cyg     

Peter J. Wheatley  Timothy R. Kallman 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2006,372(4):1602-1606

We have re-analysed the ASCA X-ray spectrum of the bright symbiotic star CH Cyg, which exhibits apparently distinct hard and soft X-ray components. Our analysis demonstrates that the soft X-ray emission can be interpreted as scattering of the hard X-ray component in a photoionized medium surrounding the white dwarf. This is in contrast to previous analyses in which the soft X-ray emission was fitted separately and assumed to arise independently of the hard X-ray component. We note the striking similarity between the X-ray spectra of CH Cyg and Seyfert 2 galaxies, which are also believed to exhibit scattering in a photoionized medium.  相似文献   

Rejuvenation of spiral bulges     

Daniel Thomas  Roger L. Davies 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2006,366(2):510-520

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The submillimetre properties of gamma-ray burst host galaxies     

N. R. Tanvir  V. E. Barnard  A. W. Blain  A. S. Fruchter  C. Kouveliotou  P. Natarajan  E. Ramirez-Ruiz  E. Rol  I. A. Smith  R. P. J. Tilanus  R. A. M. J. Wijers 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2004,352(3):1073-1080

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Watching meteors on Triton     

W. Dean Pesnell  J.M. Grebowsky 《Icarus》2004,169(2):482-491

The thin atmosphere of Neptune's moon Triton is dense enough to ablate micrometeoroids as they pass through. A combination of Triton's orbital velocity around Neptune and its orbital velocity around the Sun gives a maximum meteoroid impact velocity of approximately 19 km s⁻¹, sufficient to heat the micrometeoroids to visibility as they enter. The ablation profiles of icy and stony micrometeoroids were calculated, along with the estimated brightness of the meteors. In contrast to the terrestrial case, visible meteors would extend very close to the surface of Triton. In addition, the variation in the meteoroid impact velocity as Triton orbits Neptune produces a large variation in the brightness of meteors with orbital phase, a unique Solar System phenomenon.  相似文献